Asian stock markets are trading mostly lower on Friday, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as traders remain concerned about the economic impact of fresh escalation in the Middle East war following attacks and counter attacks on critical energy infrastructure across the Middle East. Fading expectations for US Fed rate cuts this year is also weighing on market sentiment. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Thursday.
The "uncertain impacts" due to the Middle East escalation prompted the U.S. Fed to keep interest rates steady. The Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank also followed suit.
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May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.